Normally, a kick from Heena would have shattered the woman's ribcage into a dozen pieces. But after two full days without food, water, or movement, her muscles were severely atrophied. Still, the kinetic force was more than enough. The mother gasped in shock as the impact lifted her completely off the mattress, sending her crashing hard onto the wooden floor. The silver knife clattered uselessly into the shadows.
Heena slowly pushed herself up.
'Crack. Pop. Crack.'
The sickening sound of stiffened vertebrae and locked joints popping echoed through the quiet room as she forced her weakened body to sit up. Every single muscle screamed in protest, and her throat felt like it was lined with shattered glass. She hadn't swallowed a drop of water in forty-eight hours; drawing breath was physically agonizing.
